CDC: Autism Rates May (Or May Not) Be On The Rise

March 28, 2014 4:00 PM

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Yesterday, the CDC released its newest data on the number of children affected by autism in the country. The health and education records of 8-year-old children in 11 states – Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin – were combed to arrive at the new numbers. The finding that many have expressed concern about is that now 1 in 68 children may have autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The number is up markedly from two years ago when it was 1 in 88, and seven years ago when it was 1 in 150. But the thing to keep in mind is that these are simply rates at which kids are being identified – so the data may not indicate that autism prevalence has actually jumped that much.

1. 14.7 kids in 1000 were identified with ASD in the current study, which is about 1 in 68. But remember that the data come from only in 11 areas of the country: “It does not represent the entire population of children in the United States,” says the CDC.